


Warmth

by DarthTella



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, F/M, Huddling For Warmth, Ten being clueless, Tumblr Prompt, but utterly adorable
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-22
Updated: 2019-02-22
Packaged: 2019-11-02 02:51:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17879690
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarthTella/pseuds/DarthTella
Summary: The Doctor and Rose are trying to investigate a distress call that may or may not be there.





	Warmth

**Author's Note:**

> I have to give a huge apology for the anon who prompted me with this months ago. I hope this makes up for it!

For better or for worse, the city – which was creatively named Human Colony 15/Y/Pineapple-Gamma (but had the colloquial name of ‘Serenity’) – appeared to be abandoned. It had at one time been a sprawling multi-species metropolis and housed a sizeable space port. Now there were no sounds of people or traffic, not even an electrical hum. The odd rattling could be heard as opportunistic animals rifled through the trash looking for a meal.

The only constant noise Rose could hear was the whir of the sonic screwdriver. The Doctor scanned the area around them trying to track down the distress signal that grabbed their attention earlier. Rose hugged herself against the cold and wished she’d worn a warmer coat. It had gotten a lot colder since the sun had begun to set behind the nearby tower blocks. A thin layer of powdery snow covered almost every available surface and even more blew off from nearby roofs and awnings. Rose raised her arm to shield her eyes from a strong gust of wind as she tried to keep pace with the Doctor’s long strides.

Next thing she knew, her arms were pin-wheeling in an attempt to keep her balance as her feet slid below her. Rose reached out blindly and grabbed the nearest object she could find, which just so happened to be the Doctor’s arm.

“Woah!” He called out turning quickly on his heel and took hold of her hands, holding her upright so she wouldn’t fall on her backside. “Tricky stuff, black ice. Sneaks up on you! You okay?” Rose nodded as he pulled her in for a hug.

“Yeah, n-no d-damage.” She couldn’t help her teeth chattering as an even colder gust of wind whipped through the alleyway they were walking through. She instinctively buried her face in his chest so her face wouldn’t be hit by the wind.

“Are you shivering?” The Doctor asked, quite unnecessarily Rose thought. With them standing so close together it would be impossible for him to not feel her body trembling in an attempt to keep warm. She shot him a withering look, and he sighed. He took a step back from her and surveyed the area around them. There was a metal doorway nearby, and with a little force the Doctor was able to get it open. He popped his head in, and called out “Hello?”. 

Silence was his only answer.

“M-maybe we should head back to the t-t-TARDIS?” Rose suggested, her shivering almost uncontrollable now. She could barely feel her fingers and toes now and her face felt completely numb. The Doctor shook his head as he ushered her inside. It took her eyes a moment to adjust but Rose soon saw that he had brought her into what appeared to be an industrial kitchen. The back of a restaurant maybe?

“It’s getting dark fast. Temperatures are going to drop even further to well below freezing. It’s best to stay here for now.” He was now sonicing one of the ovens and a moment later it flared to life. Rose surged forward, holding her hands out towards the open oven door sighing in relief when her frozen fingers began to thaw. After a few moments, she was able to stop shivering.

“You could have warned me earlier that it got so cold. I would’ve dressed warmer.” She grumbled, sparing him a glance. He rubbed the back of his neck, before turning his attention to another oven and turning it on.

“I didn’t know it would take so long to track down the distress call.” He said simply, then muttered: “If there even was one…”

Rose blinked.

“You mean we could just be on a wild goose chase?”

“Well…” His voice was doing that squeaky thing again, like he did whenever he was caught out. Then he sniffed. “This place could’ve been abandoned for any number of reasons. Besides, since when do we ever ignore a potential distress call?” Rose shrugged. He had a point there.

“Anyway, we should cuddle.” He stated matter-of-factually. She blinked up at him, her mouth working to come up with a coherent response. Did he really just say that? He looked just as shocked that the words had even passed through his lips.

“Erm… I mean… huddle together. Y’know... for warmth!” He amended, but Rose could see the slight flush to his cheeks. She smiled warmly at him. The Doctor had always been a bit more affectionate towards her in this body always up for a hug and he often scooped up her hand when they walked side by side. That wasn’t even mentioning all the times he’d wrap his arm around her when they read together in the library. But actually saying out loud that he wanted a cuddle was a new one. 

“For warmth.” She agreed gently patting his arm. He seemed to relax, but only slightly and gave her a warm smile before running into the other room for a moment. Rose could hear some more sonicing, the Doctor cursing a little under his breath and then the sound of something scraping against the floor. She laughed as she watched the Doctor awkwardly push a sofa in from the other room.

“Nicked it from the private lounge. It’s way more comfortable than sitting on the floor, don’t you think?” She helped him manoeuvre it over towards the ovens and flopped gratefully down on it.

“You don’t happen to have a blanket on you?” Rose meant it as a joke, but the Doctor rolled his eyes at her.

“Oh, ye of little faith.” He quipped cracking a smile as he pulled something square and silvery out of his pocket. He sat down beside her and unfolded it and she soon realised it was one of those foil heat insulating blankets she’d seen paramedics use, only about double the size. He wrapped one end of it around his shoulder and scooted over to her so he could wrap the other end around her. He fussed with it a bit making sure they were covered as much as possible, and pulled her close encouraging her to rest her head on his shoulder. He held her tight as they sat in silence.

“Doctor?”

“Hmm?”

Rose bit her lip, trying to figure out how to phrase what she wanted to ask him without scaring him off.

“What’s going on here?” She felt him shrug.

“I don’t know. I imagine once we find the source of the distress call…”

“No,” Rose cut in, “I mean what’s happening here?” She squeezed his middle for emphasis.

“Conservation of body heat. Now I can survive much colder temperatures than you can, but it’s really not that pleasant. I quite like to be warm in this body, don’t have much body fat to insulate me this time. And you, well… would be an ice lolly in no time! Human bodies, they need so much maintenance.” The Doctor was rambling at 90 miles per hour, like he always did when any real personal topic came up. Rose sighed.

“That’s not what you meant, is it?” The Doctor said it so quietly Rose wasn’t sure he said anything at all. She sat back from him slightly so she could look at his face clearly. He was staring straight ahead, his expression unreadable. The hand on her shoulder was tightening and relaxing over and over again, like he was trying to decide whether or not to let her go.

“Yes or no, Doctor: was there a distress call?” Rose asked patiently. The Doctor shifted uncomfortably.

“Well, erm, no… not as such. Just a general message that this city was sort of... abandoned…” He said eventually. Rose just stared at him for a good long moment. He still didn’t look her way.

The pieces all fell together in her brain, and Rose began to laugh.

“Did, did you just,” she had to take a moment to breathe she was laughing so hard. “Did you just make up a situation where we’d have to cuddle up for warmth?”

“I didn’t want you to think I was taking advantage!” He blurted before his brain could connect with his mouth. He let go of her then, burying his face in his hands, completely mortified.

“You’re so daft!” Rose was still laughing. “Doctor, you know I love… uh… a good cuddle with you. But all you had to do was ask. You didn’t need to concoct some elaborate scheme.” She got her giggles under control and reached over and tugged gently at one of his wrists until she could pull it away from his face and lace their fingers together. Slowly his fingers curled around hers as she brushed her thumb lightly over his.

Eventually he looked back over at her, a shy smile tugging at his lips.

“This was rather daft of me wasn’t it?” He chuckled.

“Quite.” She agreed giving him that tongue touched grin of hers. He let go of her hand and pulled her back in close. Rose’s breath hitched when she felt his lips press lightly against her forehead before he rested his chin on top of her head.

“Just to be clear: we are stuck in here all night?”

“Yeah.” He drawled. “I may not have thought this completely through.” Rose giggled at that.

“That’s okay. I’m comfy. Besides, I’m sure we’re capable of keeping each other warm.” She turned her head so she could lightly kiss the side of his neck. He shivered and pulled away from her.

“Cold?” Rose asked, her voice as innocent as she could make it. He shook his head and cradled her face gently in his hands.

“Absolutely not.” He breathed, finally bringing his mouth down to hers.


End file.
